# Umbilical cord -- the mommy end **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 25, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583 "2004-11-25T01:54:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583/41 "2004-11-27T12:53:50Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > Pitocin is the DEVIL! > > Re: injection to make placenta come out. I’m assuming that this is given only to mothers who seem to be having trouble with it? I didn’t get an injection like that but then it came out easily just a couple of minutes after the baby. That depends on the doctor and the hospital. Placentas normally come out without intervention, but hospitals and doctors sometimes have a one size fits all set of procedures that is not altered just because things are going well for one mother. ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583/42 "2004-11-27T13:17:51Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > Re: injection to make placenta come out. I’m assuming that this is given only to mothers who seem to be having trouble with it? I didn’t get an injection like that but then it came out easily just a couple of minutes after the baby. Not in the hospital where my daughter was born - we were all told in advance, in ante natal classes, that we would be given the injection. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583/43 "2004-11-27T14:35:04Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > Pitocin is the DEVIL! > > Re: injection to make placenta come out. I’m assuming that this is given only to mothers who seem to be having trouble with it? I didn’t get an injection like that but then it came out easily just a couple of minutes after the baby. I was not given an injection. My placenta delivered normally. That could be because I was already on a pit drip. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583/44 "2004-11-27T14:37:33Z")
Doh :smack: I had a pit drip too because I was induced. No wonder :smack: ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583/45 "2004-11-27T17:06:51Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > I was not given an injection. My placenta delivered normally. That could be because I was already on a pit drip. If you were on a pit drip, what they almost certainly did was open it wide after delivery, which has much the same effect as an injection. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583/46 "2004-11-27T21:02:31Z")
People have already told you the umbilical cord is connected to the placenta. The placenta is very bloody since the blood nourishes the baby while in the womb. The umbilical cord contains three blood vessels and is also very vascular. After the baby is born, it makes sense to cut the cord quickly. The goal of pregnancy is healthy mother and healthy baby. Baby may well require resucitative measures (though usually very mild ones like using a rubber bulb to suction the nose) or have the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck (seen this many times). One needs to examine the baby quickly, check its heart and breathing, warm it up, find its Apgar scores, etc. This is hard to do when baby is still connected to Mom. I would need to hear a strong cultural case for keeping the cord uncut since the risks in doing so are not trivial. I was taught when delivering a baby (I’ve delivered perhaps 80) to wait for the placenta to come out to avoid “inverting” it. Many fine obstetricians wait a while (for the oxytocin to close off the placental blood vessels) but do pull on the placenta GENTLY to speed things up a bit. I have never seen either an inverted uterus or maternal death, but aggressive traction on the umbilical cord for placental removal is a no-no, as all midwives an OB-GYNs certainly know. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583/47 "2004-11-28T02:00:38Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > One needs to examine the baby quickly, check its heart and breathing, warm it up, find its Apgar scores, etc. What’s an Apgar score? _Heads off to Google…_ ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583/48 "2004-11-28T02:22:30Z")
Ah, I see: **A** - Activity (muscle tone) **P** - Pulse (nice to have one) **G** - Grimace (should be cranky) **A** - Appearance (healthy pink is preferable) **R** - Respiration ( \ “Cry, cry, babyyyyy!” \ ) ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583/49 "2004-11-28T02:52:31Z")
Is that the sound of ignorance falling I hear? FWIW, Lady Chance had no oxytocin injection for either of her deliveries. Even the first one that was induced (she was three+ weeks late) didn’t have the wide-open drip thing. Then again, those placentas came out about the speed of sound immediately following the girls. Trust me, I had the best seat in the house for these. Doc in the hot seat. Me holding one leg and coaching Doc: “Mr Chance, would you like to catch the baby?” Me: “Who’s getting paid five grand?” Nurse: “BWHAHAHAHAHA” Lady Chance: “Will you two shut the f\*ck up?” You had to be there. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583/50 "2004-11-28T03:45:11Z")
> [@KellyM](#): > > If you were on a pit drip, what they almost certainly did was open it wide after delivery, which has much the same effect as an injection. IIRC, they stopped the pit before I began pushing. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583/51 "2004-11-28T07:11:12Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > Ah, I see: > > **A** - Activity (muscle tone) > **P** - Pulse (nice to have one) > **G** - Grimace (should be cranky) > **A** - Appearance (healthy pink is preferable) > **R** - Respiration ( \ “Cry, cry, babyyyyy!” \ ) If I’m remembering my pregnancy books correctly, you wanna see an Apgar of about 7 or 8 at the first minute, and then 10 at 5 minutes. When I was born, mine was 3 and then 1. The sweetest sound in the world is that of a REALLY pissed off newborn. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umbilical-cord-the-mommy-end/276583.md?page=2)